India-born Devika Bulchandani took over as the global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ogilvy, on Friday, September 9. Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency.
Devika Bulchandani succeeded Andy Main, as the Global CEO of the company. Most recently, Bulchandani served as Global President and CEO of Ogilvy North America.
Devika was born on 17 March 1969 in Amritsar, Punjab, India. She has three siblings. Devika did her schooling at Welham Girls' School in Dehradun, after which she did her bachelor's in English and Psychology at St Xavier’s in Mumbai. Later in 1991, Devika went to California for higher studies, and she attained a master's degree in Communications at the University of Southern California.
Devika began her advertising career in 1995. In 1997, she joined McCann’s strategy department. She spent 26 years at McCann in various leadership roles including President of McCann North America.
In 2014, Devika became the President of McCannXBC (ExtraBoldCondensed). McCannXBC was formed in 2012 to work on MasterCard’s global marketing efforts alongside additional McCann Worldgroup companies.
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Devika is also credited for being the driving force behind Mastercard's long-running "Priceless" campaign as well as "True Name", a first-of-its-kind feature launched in 2019 that empowers transgender and non-binary people to display their chosen name on their Mastercard.
Additionally, she also helped launch "Fearless Girl", an iconic and beloved symbol of women's equality. The campaign became one of the most awarded in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Later in 2017, Bulchandani was named the president of McCann, NY.
Known for ideas that capture the cultural zeitgeist, Devika Bulchandani joined Ogilvy in 2021. At Ogilvy, she served as Global President and CEO of Ogilvy North America.
As the CEO of the company, she will be responsible for all aspects of the creative network's business across 131 offices in 93 countries and spanning its Advertising, Public Relations, Experience, Consulting, and Health units. She will also join WPP's Executive Committee as she takes on her new role.
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With her appointment as the CEO of Ogilvy, Devika joins a growing list of Indian-origin CEOs at the helm of some of the biggest companies in the US.
Devika Bulchandani is married and has two children, a 23-year-old son Arhaan, and a 17-year-old daughter Anya.
